Quotes

The hurricane that struck Louisiana yesterday was nicknamed Katrina by the National Weather Service. Its real name is global warming. Unfortunately, very few people in America know the real name of Hurricane Katrina because the coal and oil industries have spent millions of dollars to keep the public in doubt about the issue. (Ross Gelbspan)

I guess I feel that I was following my instincts, and at the same time being guided by the best. I became totally intrigued with Louisiana--the people, the food. It is a part of my life. Everything that has happened for me since moving here has just been icing on the cake. (Emeril Lagasse )

In '71 or '72 I returned to New Orleans and stayed there. I started cooking Louisiana food. Of all the things I had cooked, it was the best-and it was my heritage. (Paul Prudhomme)

When I'm out hustling up new industries, I can offer Louisiana's many selling points. We have unmatched natural resources, a unique culture and fantastic workers. (Kathleen Blanco)

Louisiana My Home Sweet Home

(words by Sammie McKenzie and Lou Levoy, music by Castro Carazo)

Kissed by the Gulf's mighty stream,
A lovely state, Louisiana,
Where sweet magnolias, so rare,
Perfume the air
With fragrance that's supreme.
God bless our lovely state.
It's a paradise right here on earth.

Items of Interest

Mardi Gras is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the forty days of Lent (a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice). This custom was brought to LA by the French.

LA has the greatest concentration of crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and petrochemical production facilities in the Western Hemisphere.

The Battle of New Orleans, which made Andrew Jackson a national hero, was fought two weeks after the War of 1812 had ended and more than a month before the news of the war's end had reached LA.

Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the United States; the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors.

The Superdome in New Orleans is the worlds largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts.

Metairie is home to the longest (24 mile) bridge over water in the world, the Lake Pontchartrain causeway.

The first American army to have African American officers was the confederate LA Native Guards. The Corps d'Afrique at Port Hudson was sworn into service on September 27, 1862.

Bayou (BUY-you) is a French word for slow-moving "river"

The golden spike, commemorating the completion of the east-west Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad, was driven at Bossier City on July 12, 1884, by Julia "Pansy" Rule. It was the first such spike driven by a woman.

Jim Bowie - adventurer, hero of the Battle of the Alamo (lived in Opelousas)

Truman Capote (1924-1984) - writer (New Orleans)

Kitty Carlisle - singer, actress (New Orleans)

Van Cliburn - concert pianist(Shreveport)

Michael De Bakey - heart surgeon (Lake Charles)

Fats Domino - musician (New Orleans)

Bryant Gumbel - television newscaster (New Orleans)

Lillian Hellman - playwright, New Orleans)

Al Hirt - trumpeter, New Orleans)

Mahalia Jackson - gospel singer (New Orleans)

Frances Parkinson Keyes - author (Crowley)

Dorothy Lamour - actress (New Orleans)

Jerry Lee Lewis - rock and roll singer (Ferriday)

Huey P. Long - politician (Winnfield)

Wynton Marsalis - musician (New Orleans)

Jelly Roll Morton - jazz musician, composer (New Orleans)

Huey Newton - black activist (New Orleans)

Paul Prudhomme - chef (Opelousas)

Cokie Roberts - journalist (New Orleans)

Kordell Stewart - football player (Marrero)

Ray Walston - actor (New Orleans)

Edward Douglas White - supreme court justice (Lafourche Parish)

The Louisiana State Flag
The flag, adopted in 1912, has a blue background. In the center is the pelican group from the state Seal, depicted in white and gold. The mother pelican is tearing flesh from her own breast to feed her young (symbolizing the early settlers belief that Eastern Brown pelicans were generous and nurturing and would sacrifice themselves for their young if food was scarce). A white and gold banner below the seal has the state motto "Union, Justice, and Confidence" in blue.

You know you are from Louisiana if...

The crawdad mounds in your front yard have over taken the grass.

You greet people with "Howzyamomma'an'dem?" and hear back "Dey fine!"

Every so often, you have waterfront property.

When giving directions you use words like "uptown," "downtown," "backatown," "riverside," "lakeside," "other side of the bayou" or "other side of the levee."

When you refer to a geographical location "way up North," you are referring to places like Shreveport, Little Rock or Memphis, "where it gets real cold."

You've ever had Community Coffee.

You can pronounce Tchoupitoulas but can't spell it.

You don't worry when you see ships riding higher in the river than the top of your house.

You judge a po-boy by the number of napkins used.

The waitress at your local sandwich shop tells you a fried oyster po-boy "dressed" is healthier than a Caesar salad.

You can eat Popeye's, Haydel's and Zapp's for lunch and wash it down with Barq's and several Abitas, without losing it all on your stoop.

The four seasons in your year are: crawfish, shrimp, crab, and King Cake.

You "wrench" your hands in the sink with an onion bar to get the crawfish smell off.

You don't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national holiday.

You believe that purple, green and gold look good together.

Your last name isn't pronounced the way it's spelled.

You know what a nutria rat is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team.

You have spent a summer afternoon on the Lake Pontchartrain seawall catching blue crabs.

You describe a color as "K and B Purple."

You like your rice and politics dirty.

You pronounce the largest city in the state as "Nawlins."

You know those big roaches can fly, but you're able to sleep at night anyway.

You assume everyone has mosquito swarms in their backyard.

You realize the rainforest is less humid than Louisiana.

You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.

You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.

When out of town, you stop and ask someone where there is a drive-through Daiquiri place, and they look at you like you have three heads.

You have flood insurance.

Your burial plot is six feet over rather than six feet under.

You consider a Bloody Mary a light breakfast.

You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras throws.

You leave a parade with footprints on the top of your hands.

You have a parade ladder in your shed.

Your first sentence was "Throw me something mistah" and your first drink was from a go-cup.

You worry about a deceased family member returning in spring floods.

You reply to anything and everything about life here with "Only in Nahlins".

You have a monogrammed go-cup.

You get on a bus marked "Cemeteries" and don't think twice.

You shake out your shoes before putting them on.

Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside.

No matter where else you go in the world, you are always disappointed in the food.

You get up in the morning and start cooking a pot of rice before you give any thought to what you'll fix for dinner.